We are all Keynesians now
"We are all Keynesians now" is a now-famous phrase coined by Milton Friedman and attributed to U.S. president Richard Nixon. It is popularly associated with the reluctant embrace in a time of financial crisis of Keynesian economics by individuals such as Nixon who had formerly favored monetarist policies.
[edit] History of the phrase
The phrase was first attributed to Milton Friedman in the December 31, 1965 edition of Time magazine.[1] In the February 4, 1966 edition, Friedman wrote a letter clarifying that his original statement had been "In one sense, we are all Keynesians now; in another, nobody is any longer a Keynesian."[2]
In 1971, after taking the United States off the gold standard,[3] Nixon was quoted as saying "I am now a Keynesian in economics",[4] which became popularly associated with Friedman's phrase.
The origin of the phrase goes back even further to 19th century Liberal statesmen William Vernon Harcourt, who on the 11 August 1887, whilst giving a speech on The Labourers' Allotments Bill, remarked that "we are all Socialists now"[5]
In 2002, Peter Mandleson wrote an article in The Times declaring "we are all Thatcherites now", referring to the acceptance amongst the other political parties of Margaret Thatcher's economic policies.[6]
The phrase gained new life in the midst of the global financial crisis of 2008, when economists called for massive investment in infrastructure and job creation as a means of economic stimulation.[7][8]
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[edit] References
- ^ "We Are All Keynesians Now". Time. December 31, 1965. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,842353,00.html. Retrieved 2008-12-16.
- ^ "Letter: Friedman & Keynes". Time. February 4, 1966. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,898916-2,00.html. Retrieved 2008-12-16.
- ^ Pearlstein, Steven (November 26, 2008). "Keynes on Steroids". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/25/AR2008112502589.html. Retrieved 2008-12-16.
- ^ http://www.thenation.com/doc/20081201/letter
- ^ "House Of Commons, Thursday, Aug. 11". The Times. 12 August, 1887.
- ^ "Mandelson: we are all Thatcherites now". The Guardian. 10 June 2002. http://politics.guardian.co.uk/labour/story/0,9061,730718,00.html.
- ^ "We are all Keynesians now". Boston Globe. November 25, 2008. http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2008/11/25/we_are_all_keynesians_now/. Retrieved 2008-12-16.
- ^ Fox, Justin (October 23, 2008). "The Comeback Keynes". Time. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1853302,00.html. Retrieved 2008-12-16.
